Extensible integrated development environment (IDE) platform with open application programming interfaces (APIs)

ABSTRACT

An industrial integrated development environment (IDE) supports open or extensible application programming interfaces (APIs) that enable end users (e.g., plant asset owners, original equipment manufacturers (OEM), system integrators, etc.) to build upon the IDE&#39;s development platform to create custom views or to code custom functionality. This can include, for example, defining a control programming syntax supported by the industrial IDE, customizing a development environment view afforded by the IDE&#39;s interface, modifying or creating project editing functions, defining customized programming guardrails designed to guide compliance with in-house programming standards, or other such IDE customizations.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and claims priority to, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/580,581 (now U.S. Pat. No. 11,048,483),filed on Sep. 24, 2019, and entitled “INDUSTRIAL PROGRAMMING DEVELOPMENTWITH AN EXTENSIBLE INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT (IDE) PLATFORM,”the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to industrialautomation systems, and, for example, to industrial programmingdevelopment platforms

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects described herein. This summary is not anextensive overview nor is intended to identify key/critical elements orto delineate the scope of the various aspects described herein. Its solepurpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude tothe more detailed description that is presented later.

In one or more embodiments, a system for developing industrialapplications is provided, comprising a user interface componentconfigured to render integrated development environment (IDE) interfacesand to receive, via interaction with the IDE interfaces, industrialdesign input that defines aspects of an industrial automation controlproject, wherein functionality of the IDE interfaces is controlled by anIDE editor; a project generation component configured to generate systemproject data based on the industrial design input; and an editordefinition component configured to receive, via interaction with theuser interface component, interface definition data that specifies acustomization of an IDE interface, of the IDE interfaces, and toreconfigure the IDE editor to implement the customization on the IDEinterface.

Also, one or more embodiments provide a method for developing industrialapplications, comprising rendering, by a system comprising a processor,integrated development environment (IDE) interfaces on a client device;receiving, by the system via interaction with the IDE interfaces,industrial design input that defines aspects of an industrial controland monitoring project, wherein functionality of the IDE interfaces iscontrolled by an IDE editor; generating, by the system, system projectdata based on the industrial design input; receiving, by the system viainteraction with the user interface component, interface definition datathat specifies a customization of an IDE interface, of the IDEinterfaces; and implementing, by the system based on the interfacedefinition data, the customization on the IDE interface.

Also, according to one or more embodiments, a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium is provided having stored thereon instructionsthat, in response to execution, cause a system to perform operations,the operations comprising rendering integrated development environment(IDE) interfaces on a client device; receiving, via interaction with theIDE interfaces, industrial design input that defines control designaspects of an industrial automation project, wherein industrialautomation project editing functions of the IDE interfaces arecontrolled by an IDE editor; generating system project data based on theindustrial design input; receiving, via interaction with the userinterface component, interface definition data that specifies acustomization of an IDE interface of the IDE interfaces; andimplementing, based on the interface definition data, the customizationon the IDE interface.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certainillustrative aspects are described herein in connection with thefollowing description and the annexed drawings. These aspects areindicative of various ways which can be practiced, all of which areintended to be covered herein. Other advantages and novel features maybecome apparent from the following detailed description when consideredin conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example industrial control environment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example integrated developmentenvironment (IDE) system.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a generalized architecture of anindustrial IDE system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating several example automation objectproperties that can be leveraged by the IDE system in connection withbuilding, deploying, and executing a system project.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating example data flows associated withcreation of a system project for an automation system being designedusing an industrial IDE system.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example system project thatincorporates automation objects into a project model.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating commissioning of a system project.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example architecture in whichcloud-based IDE services are used to develop and deploy industrialapplications to a plant environment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating customization of an industrial IDEsystem's development interface.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating components of an example editordefinition component.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating multi-tenancy of the cloud-basedindustrial IDE services in which respective client devices are permittedto separately customize their own development environment interfaces.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating multi-tenancy of the cloud-basedindustrial IDE services in which respective client devices leverage thecentralized industrial IDE services to develop their own industrialsystem projects.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the use of industrial IDE services asa proxy between a plant-based project developer and remote technicalsupport personnel.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of an example methodology for extending anindustrial IDE platform to end users to permit creation of customizeddevelopment platform views and functionality, and the use of thesecustomized views to develop industrial control code, visualizations, anddevice configurations.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of an example methodology for generating anddeploying industrial control software using an industrial IDE platform.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of an example methodology for applying industrialvertical-specific programming guardrails during industrial controlprogramming development.

FIG. 17 is an example computing environment.

FIG. 18 is an example networking environment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject disclosure is now described with reference to the drawings,wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elementsthroughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation,numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding thereof. It may be evident, however, that the subjectdisclosure can be practiced without these specific details. In otherinstances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagramform in order to facilitate a description thereof.

As used in this application, the terms “component,” “system,”“platform,” “layer,” “controller,” “terminal,” “station,” “node,”“interface” are intended to refer to a computer-related entity or anentity related to, or that is part of, an operational apparatus with oneor more specific functionalities, wherein such entities can be eitherhardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or softwarein execution. For example, a component can be, but is not limited tobeing, a process running on a processor, a processor, a hard disk drive,multiple storage drives (of optical or magnetic storage medium)including affixed (e.g., screwed or bolted) or removable affixedsolid-state storage drives; an object; an executable; a thread ofexecution; a computer-executable program, and/or a computer. By way ofillustration, both an application running on a server and the server canbe a component. One or more components can reside within a processand/or thread of execution, and a component can be localized on onecomputer and/or distributed between two or more computers. Also,components as described herein can execute from various computerreadable storage media having various data structures stored thereon.The components may communicate via local and/or remote processes such asin accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., datafrom one component interacting with another component in a local system,distributed system, and/or across a network such as the Internet withother systems via the signal). As another example, a component can be anapparatus with specific functionality provided by mechanical partsoperated by electric or electronic circuitry which is operated by asoftware or a firmware application executed by a processor, wherein theprocessor can be internal or external to the apparatus and executes atleast a part of the software or firmware application. As yet anotherexample, a component can be an apparatus that provides specificfunctionality through electronic components without mechanical parts,the electronic components can include a processor therein to executesoftware or firmware that provides at least in part the functionality ofthe electronic components. As further yet another example, interface(s)can include input/output (I/O) components as well as associatedprocessor, application, or Application Programming Interface (API)components. While the foregoing examples are directed to aspects of acomponent, the exemplified aspects or features also apply to a system,platform, interface, layer, controller, terminal, and the like.

As used herein, the terms “to infer” and “inference” refer generally tothe process of reasoning about or inferring states of the system,environment, and/or user from a set of observations as captured viaevents and/or data. Inference can be employed to identify a specificcontext or action, or can generate a probability distribution overstates, for example. The inference can be probabilistic—that is, thecomputation of a probability distribution over states of interest basedon a consideration of data and events. Inference can also refer totechniques employed for composing higher-level events from a set ofevents and/or data. Such inference results in the construction of newevents or actions from a set of observed events and/or stored eventdata, whether or not the events are correlated in close temporalproximity, and whether the events and data come from one or severalevent and data sources.

In addition, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” ratherthan an exclusive “or.” That is, unless specified otherwise, or clearfrom the context, the phrase “X employs A or B” is intended to mean anyof the natural inclusive permutations. That is, the phrase “X employs Aor B” is satisfied by any of the following instances: X employs A; Xemploys B; or X employs both A and B. In addition, the articles “a” and“an” as used in this application and the appended claims shouldgenerally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwiseor clear from the context to be directed to a singular form.

Furthermore, the term “set” as employed herein excludes the empty set;e.g., the set with no elements therein. Thus, a “set” in the subjectdisclosure includes one or more elements or entities. As anillustration, a set of controllers includes one or more controllers; aset of data resources includes one or more data resources; etc.Likewise, the term “group” as utilized herein refers to a collection ofone or more entities; e.g., a group of nodes refers to one or morenodes.

Various aspects or features will be presented in terms of systems thatmay include a number of devices, components, modules, and the like. Itis to be understood and appreciated that the various systems may includeadditional devices, components, modules, etc. and/or may not include allof the devices, components, modules etc. discussed in connection withthe figures. A combination of these approaches also can be used.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example industrial control environment100. In this example, a number of industrial controllers 118 aredeployed throughout an industrial plant environment to monitor andcontrol respective industrial systems or processes relating to productmanufacture, machining, motion control, batch processing, materialhandling, or other such industrial functions. Industrial controllers 118typically execute respective control programs to facilitate monitoringand control of industrial devices 120 making up the controlledindustrial assets or systems (e.g., industrial machines). One or moreindustrial controllers 118 may also comprise a soft controller executedon a personal computer or other hardware platform, or on a cloudplatform. Some hybrid devices may also combine controller functionalitywith other functions (e.g., visualization). The control programsexecuted by industrial controllers 118 can comprise substantially anytype of code capable of processing input signals read from theindustrial devices 120 and controlling output signals generated by theindustrial controllers 118, including but not limited to ladder logic,sequential function charts, function block diagrams, or structured text.

Industrial devices 120 may include both input devices that provide datarelating to the controlled industrial systems to the industrialcontrollers 118, and output devices that respond to control signalsgenerated by the industrial controllers 118 to control aspects of theindustrial systems. Example input devices can include telemetry devices(e.g., temperature sensors, flow meters, level sensors, pressuresensors, etc.), manual operator control devices (e.g., push buttons,selector switches, etc.), safety monitoring devices (e.g., safety mats,safety pull cords, light curtains, etc.), and other such devices. Outputdevices may include motor drives, pneumatic actuators, signalingdevices, robot control inputs, valves, pumps, and the like.

Industrial controllers 118 may communicatively interface with industrialdevices 120 over hardwired or networked connections. For example,industrial controllers 118 can be equipped with native hardwired inputsand outputs that communicate with the industrial devices 120 to effectcontrol of the devices. The native controller I/O can include digitalI/O that transmits and receives discrete voltage signals to and from thefield devices, or analog I/O that transmits and receives analog voltageor current signals to and from the devices. The controller I/O cancommunicate with a controller's processor over a backplane such that thedigital and analog signals can be read into and controlled by thecontrol programs. Industrial controllers 118 can also communicate withindustrial devices 120 over a network using, for example, acommunication module or an integrated networking port. Exemplarynetworks can include the Internet, intranets, Ethernet, DeviceNet,ControlNet, Data Highway and Data Highway Plus (DH/DH+), Remote I/O,Fieldbus, Modbus, Profibus, wireless networks, serial protocols, and thelike. The industrial controllers 118 can also store persisted datavalues that can be referenced by their associated control programs andused for control decisions, including but not limited to measured orcalculated values representing operational states of a controlledmachine or process (e.g., tank levels, positions, alarms, etc.) orcaptured time series data that is collected during operation of theautomation system (e.g., status information for multiple points in time,diagnostic occurrences, etc.). Similarly, some intelligentdevices—including but not limited to motor drives, instruments, orcondition monitoring modules—may store data values that are used forcontrol and/or to visualize states of operation. Such devices may alsocapture time-series data or events on a log for later retrieval andviewing.

Industrial automation systems often include one or more human-machineinterfaces (HMIs) 114 that allow plant personnel to view telemetry andstatus data associated with the automation systems, and to control someaspects of system operation. HMIs 114 may communicate with one or moreof the industrial controllers 118 over a plant network 116, and exchangedata with the industrial controllers to facilitate visualization ofinformation relating to the controlled industrial processes on one ormore pre-developed operator interface screens. HMIs 114 can also beconfigured to allow operators to submit data to specified data tags ormemory addresses of the industrial controllers 118, thereby providing ameans for operators to issue commands to the controlled systems (e.g.,cycle start commands, device actuation commands, etc.), to modifysetpoint values, etc. HMIs 114 can generate one or more display screensthrough which the operator interacts with the industrial controllers118, and thereby with the controlled processes and/or systems. Exampledisplay screens can visualize present states of industrial systems ortheir associated devices using graphical representations of theprocesses that display metered or calculated values, employ color orposition animations based on state, render alarm notifications, oremploy other such techniques for presenting relevant data to theoperator. Data presented in this manner is read from industrialcontrollers 118 by HMIs 114 and presented on one or more of the displayscreens according to display formats chosen by the HMI developer. HMIsmay comprise fixed location or mobile devices with either user-installedor pre-installed operating systems, and either user-installed orpre-installed graphical application software.

Some industrial environments may also include other systems or devicesrelating to specific aspects of the controlled industrial systems. Thesemay include, for example, a data historian 110 that aggregates andstores production information collected from the industrial controllers118 or other data sources, device documentation stores containingelectronic documentation for the various industrial devices making upthe controlled industrial systems, inventory tracking systems, workorder management systems, repositories for machine or process drawingsand documentation, vendor product documentation storage, vendorknowledgebases, internal knowledgebases, work scheduling applications,or other such systems, some or all of which may reside on an officenetwork 108 of the industrial environment.

Higher-level systems 126 may carry out functions that are less directlyrelated to control of the industrial automation systems on the plantfloor, and instead are directed to long term planning, high-levelsupervisory control, analytics, reporting, or other such high-levelfunctions. These systems 126 may reside on the office network 108 at anexternal location relative to the plant facility, or on a cloud platformwith access to the office and/or plant networks. Higher-level systems126 may include, but are not limited to, cloud storage and analysissystems, big data analysis systems, manufacturing execution systems,data lakes, reporting systems, etc. In some scenarios, applicationsrunning at these higher levels of the enterprise may be configured toanalyze control system operational data, and the results of thisanalysis may be fed back to an operator at the control system ordirectly to a controller 118 or device 120 in the control system.

The various control, monitoring, and analytical devices that make up anindustrial environment must be programmed or configured using respectiveconfiguration applications specific to each device. For example,industrial controllers 118 are typically configured and programmed usinga control programming development application such as a ladder logiceditor (e.g., executing on a client device 124). Using such developmentplatforms, a designer can write control programming (e.g., ladder logic,structured text, function block diagrams, etc.) for carrying out adesired industrial sequence or process and download the resultingprogram files to the controller 118. Separately, developers designvisualization screens and associated navigation structures for HMIs 114using an HMI development platform (e.g., executing on client device 122)and download the resulting visualization files to the HMI 114. Someindustrial devices 120—such as motor drives, telemetry devices, safetyinput devices, etc.—may also require configuration using separate deviceconfiguration tools (e.g., executing on client device 128) that arespecific to the device being configured. Such device configuration toolsmay be used to set device parameters or operating modes (e.g., high/lowlimits, output signal formats, scale factors, energy consumption modes,etc.).

The necessity of using separate configuration tools to program andconfigure disparate aspects of an industrial automation system resultsin a piecemeal design approach whereby different but related oroverlapping aspects of an automation system are designed, configured,and programmed separately on different development environments. Forexample, a motion control system may require an industrial controller tobe programmed and a control loop to be tuned using a control logicprogramming platform, a motor drive to be configured using anotherconfiguration platform, and an associated HMI to be programmed using avisualization development platform. Related peripheral systems—such asvision systems, safety systems, etc.—may also require configurationusing separate programming or development applications.

This segregated development approach can also necessitate considerabletesting and debugging efforts to ensure proper integration of theseparately configured system aspects. In this regard, intended datainterfacing or coordinated actions between the different system aspectsmay require significant debugging due to a failure to properlycoordinate disparate programming efforts.

Industrial development platforms are also limited in terms of thedevelopment interfaces offered to the user to facilitate programming andconfiguration. These interfaces typically offer a fixed user experiencethat requires the user to develop control code, visualizations, or othercontrol system aspects using a vendor-specific or industry-specificlanguage, or a fixed set of development interfaces.

To address at least some of these or other issues, one or moreembodiments described herein provide an integrated developmentenvironment (IDE) for designing, programming, and configuring multipleaspects of an industrial automation system using a common designenvironment and data model. Embodiments of the industrial IDE can beused to configure and manage automation system devices in a common way,facilitating integrated, multi-discipline programming of control,visualization, and other aspects of the control system.

In general, the industrial IDE supports features that span the fullautomation lifecycle, including design (e.g., device selection andsizing, controller programming, visualization development, deviceconfiguration, testing, etc.); installation, configuration andcommissioning; operation, improvement, and administration; andtroubleshooting, expanding, and upgrading.

Embodiments of the industrial IDE can include a library of modular codeand visualizations that are specific to industry verticals and commonindustrial applications within those verticals. These code andvisualization modules can simplify development and shorten thedevelopment cycle, while also supporting consistency and reuse across anindustrial enterprise.

Some embodiments of the industrial IDE can also support open orextensible application programming interfaces (APIs) that enable endusers (e.g., plant asset owners, original equipment manufacturers(OEMs), system integrators, etc.) to build upon the IDE's developmentplatform to create custom views or to code custom functionality. Thiscan include, for example, defining a control programming syntax to besupported by the industrial IDE, customizing a development environmentview to be provided by the IDE's interface, modifying or creatingproject editing functions supported by the IDE, defining customizedprogramming guardrails designed to guide compliance with in-houseprogramming standards, or other such IDE customizations.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example integrated developmentenvironment (IDE) system 202 according to one or more embodiments ofthis disclosure. Aspects of the systems, apparatuses, or processesexplained in this disclosure can constitute machine-executablecomponents embodied within machine(s), e.g., embodied in one or morecomputer-readable mediums (or media) associated with one or moremachines. Such components, when executed by one or more machines, e.g.,computer(s), computing device(s), automation device(s), virtualmachine(s), etc., can cause the machine(s) to perform the operationsdescribed.

IDE system 202 can include a user interface component 204 including anIDE editor 224, a project generation component 206, a project deploymentcomponent 208, an editor definition component 210, an encryptioncomponent 212, a proxy component 214, one or more processors 218, andmemory 220. In various embodiments, one or more of the user interfacecomponent 204, project generation component 206, project deploymentcomponent 208, editor definition component 210, encryption component212, proxy component 214, the one or more processors 218, and memory 220can be electrically and/or communicatively coupled to one another toperform one or more of the functions of the IDE system 202. In someembodiments, components 204, 206, 208, 210, 212, and 214 can comprisesoftware instructions stored on memory 220 and executed by processor(s)218. IDE system 202 may also interact with other hardware and/orsoftware components not depicted in FIG. 2 . For example, processor(s)218 may interact with one or more external user interface devices, suchas a keyboard, a mouse, a display monitor, a touchscreen, or other suchinterface devices.

User interface component 204 can be configured to receive user input andto render output to the user in any suitable format (e.g., visual,audio, tactile, etc.). In some embodiments, user interface component 204can be configured to communicatively interface with an IDE client thatexecutes on a client device (e.g., a laptop computer, tablet computer,smart phone, etc.) that is communicatively connected to the IDE system202 (e.g., via a hardwired or wireless connection). The user interfacecomponent 204 can then receive user input data and render output datavia the IDE client. In other embodiments, user interface component 314can be configured to generate and serve suitable interface screens to aclient device (e.g., program development screens), and exchange data viathese interface screens. Input data that can be received via variousembodiments of user interface component 204 can include, but is notlimited to, programming code, industrial design specifications or goals,engineering drawings, AR/VR input, DSL definitions, video or image data,or other such input. Output data rendered by various embodiments of userinterface component 204 can include program code, programming feedback(e.g., error and highlighting, coding suggestions, etc.), programmingand visualization development screens, etc.

Project generation component 206 can be configured to create a systemproject comprising one or more project files based on design inputreceived via the user interface component 204, as well as industrialknowledge, predefined code modules and visualizations, and automationobjects 222 maintained by the IDE system 202. Project deploymentcomponent 208 can be configured to commission the system project createdby the project generation component 206 to appropriate industrialdevices (e.g., controllers, HMI terminals, motor drives, AR/VR systems,etc.) for execution. To this end, project deployment component 208 canidentify the appropriate target devices to which respective portions ofthe system project should be sent for execution, translate theserespective portions to formats understandable by the target devices, anddeploy the translated project components to their corresponding devices.

Editor definition component 210 can be configured to receive IDEinterface definition data that customizes views, syntax, or editingfunctionality of the industrial IDE. Encryption component 212 can beconfigured to encrypt customer-specific project or design data forembodiments of the IDE system 202 that are embodied on a cloud platformas a cloud-based industrial design service. Proxy component 214 can beconfigured to manage connectivity and sharing of project informationbetween developers and remote technical support in cloud-basedembodiments of the IDE system 202.

The one or more processors 218 can perform one or more of the functionsdescribed herein with reference to the systems and/or methods disclosed.Memory 220 can be a computer-readable storage medium storingcomputer-executable instructions and/or information for performing thefunctions described herein with reference to the systems and/or methodsdisclosed.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a generalized architecture of theindustrial IDE system 202 according to one or more embodiments.Industrial IDE system 202 can implement a common set of services andworkflows spanning not only design, but also commissioning, operation,and maintenance. In terms of design, the IDE system 202 can support notonly industrial controller programming and HMI development, but alsosizing and selection of system components, device/system configuration,AR/VR visualizations, and other features. The IDE system 202 can alsoinclude tools that simplify and automate commissioning of the resultingproject and assist with subsequent administration of the deployed systemduring runtime.

Embodiments of the IDE system 202 that are implemented on a cloudplatform also facilitate collaborative project development wherebymultiple developers 304 contribute design and programming input to acommon automation system project 302. Collaborative tools supported bythe IDE system can manage design contributions from the multiplecontributors and perform version control of the aggregate system project302 to ensure project consistency.

Based on design and programming input from one or more developers 304,IDE system 202 generates a system project 302 comprising one or moreproject files. The system project 302 encodes one or more of controlprogramming; HMI, AR, and/or VR visualizations; device or sub-systemconfiguration data (e.g., drive parameters, vision systemconfigurations, telemetry device parameters, safety zone definitions,etc.); or other such aspects of an industrial automation system beingdesigned. IDE system 202 can identify the appropriate target devices 306on which respective aspects of the system project 302 should be executed(e.g., industrial controllers, HMI terminals, variable frequency drives,safety devices, etc.), translate the system project 302 to executablefiles that can be executed on the respective target devices, and deploythe executable files to their corresponding target devices 306 forexecution, thereby commissioning the system project 302 to the plantfloor for implementation of the automation project.

To support enhanced development capabilities, some embodiments of IDEsystem 202 can be built on an object-based data model rather than atag-based architecture. Automation objects 222 serve as the buildingblock for this object-based development architecture. FIG. 4 is adiagram illustrating several example automation object properties thatcan be leveraged by the IDE system 202 in connection with building,deploying, and executing a system project 302. Automation objects 222can be created and augmented during design, integrated into larger datamodels, and consumed during runtime. These automation objects 222provide a common data structure across the IDE system 202 and can bestored in an object library (e.g., part of memory 220) for reuse. Theobject library can store predefined automation objects 222 representingvarious classifications of real-world industrial assets 402, includingbut not limited to pumps, tanks, values, motors, motor drives (e.g.,variable frequency drives), industrial robots, actuators (e.g.,pneumatic or hydraulic actuators), or other such assets. Automationobjects 222 can represent elements at substantially any level of anindustrial enterprise, including individual devices, machines made up ofmany industrial devices and components (some of which may be associatedwith their own automation objects 222), and entire production lines orprocess control systems.

An automation object 222 for a given type of industrial asset can encodesuch aspects as 2D or 3D visualizations, alarms, control coding (e.g.,logic or other type of control programming), analytics, startupprocedures, testing protocols, validation reports, simulations,schematics, security protocols, and other such properties associatedwith the industrial asset 402 represented by the object 222. Automationobjects 222 can also be geotagged with location information identifyingthe location of the associated asset. During runtime of the systemproject 302, the automation object 222 corresponding to a givenreal-world asset 402 can also record status or operational history datafor the asset. In general, automation objects 222 serve as programmaticrepresentations of their corresponding industrial assets 402, and can beincorporated into a system project 302 as elements of control code, a 2Dor 3D visualization, a knowledgebase or maintenance guidance system forthe industrial assets, or other such aspects.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating example data flows associated withcreation of a system project 302 for an automation system being designedusing IDE system 202 according to one or more embodiments. A clientdevice 504 (e.g., a laptop computer, tablet computer, desktop computer,mobile device, wearable AR/VR appliance, etc.) executing an IDE clientapplication 514 can access the IDE system's project development toolsand leverage these tools to create a comprehensive system project 302for an automation system being developed. Through interaction with thesystem's user interface component 204, developers can submit designinput 512 to the IDE system 202 in various supported formats, includingindustry-specific control programming (e.g., control logic, structuredtext, sequential function charts, etc.) and HMI screen configurationinput. Based on this design input 512 and information stored in anindustry knowledgebase (predefined code modules 508 and visualizations510, guardrail templates 506, physics-based rules 516, etc.), userinterface component 204 renders design feedback 518 designed to assistthe developer in connection with developing a system project 302 forconfiguration, control, and visualization of an industrial automationsystem.

In addition to control programming and visualization definitions, someembodiments of IDE system 202 can be configured to receive digitalengineering drawings (e.g., computer-aided design (CAD) files) as designinput 512. In such embodiments, project generation component 206 cangenerate portions of the system project 302—e.g., by automaticallygenerating control and/or visualization code—based on analysis ofexisting design drawings. Drawings that can be submitted as design input512 can include, but are not limited to, P&ID drawings, mechanicaldrawings, flow diagrams, or other such documents. For example, a P&IDdrawing can be imported into the IDE system 202, and project generationcomponent 206 can identify elements (e.g., tanks, pumps, etc.) andrelationships therebetween conveyed by the drawings. Project generationcomponent 206 can associate or map elements identified in the drawingswith appropriate automation objects 222 corresponding to these elements(e.g., tanks, pumps, etc.) and add these automation objects 222 to thesystem project 302. The device-specific and asset-specific automationobjects 222 include suitable code and visualizations to be associatedwith the elements identified in the drawings. In general, the IDE system202 can examine one or more different types of drawings (mechanical,electrical, piping, etc.) to determine relationships between devices,machines, and/or assets (including identifying common elements acrossdifferent drawings) and intelligently associate these elements withappropriate automation objects 222, code modules 508, and/orvisualizations 510. The IDE system 202 can leverage physics-based rules516 as well as pre-defined code modules 508 and visualizations 510 asnecessary in connection with generating code or project data for systemproject 302.

The IDE system 202 can also determine whether pre-defined visualizationcontent is available for any of the objects discovered in the drawingsand generate appropriate HMI screens or AR/VR content for the discoveredobjects based on these pre-defined visualizations. To this end, the IDEsystem 202 can store industry-specific, asset-specific, and/orapplication-specific visualizations 510 that can be accessed by theproject generation component 206 as needed. These visualizations 510 canbe classified according to industry or industrial vertical (e.g.,automotive, food and drug, oil and gas, pharmaceutical, etc.), type ofindustrial asset (e.g., a type of machine or industrial device), a typeof industrial application (e.g., batch processing, flow control, webtension control, sheet metal stamping, water treatment, etc.), or othersuch categories. Predefined visualizations 510 can comprisevisualizations in a variety of formats, including but not limited to HMIscreens or windows, mashups that aggregate data from multiplepre-specified sources, AR overlays, VR objects representing 3Dvirtualizations of the associated industrial asset, or other suchvisualization formats. IDE system 202 can select a suitablevisualization for a given object based on a predefined associationbetween the object type and the visualization content.

In another example, markings applied to an engineering drawing by a usercan be understood by some embodiments of the project generationcomponent 206 to convey a specific design intention or parameter. Forexample, a marking in red pen can be understood to indicate a safetyzone, two circles connected by a dashed line can be interpreted as agearing relationship, and a bold line may indicate a cammingrelationship. In this way, a designer can sketch out design goals on anexisting drawing in a manner that can be understood and leveraged by theIDE system 202 to generate code and visualizations. In another example,the project generation component 206 can learn permissives andinterlocks (e.g., valves and their associated states) that serve asnecessary preconditions for starting a machine based on analysis of theuser's CAD drawings. Project generation component 206 can generate anysuitable code (ladder logic, function blocks, etc.), deviceconfigurations, and visualizations based on analysis of these drawingsand markings for incorporation into system project 302. In someembodiments, user interface component 204 can include design tools fordeveloping engineering drawings within the IDE platform itself, and theproject generation component 206 can generate this code as a backgroundprocess as the user is creating the drawings for a new project. In someembodiments, project generation component 206 can also translate statemachine drawings to a corresponding programming sequence, yielding atleast skeletal code that can be enhanced by the developer withadditional programming details as needed.

Also, or in addition, some embodiments of IDE system 202 can supportgoal-based automated programming. For example, the user interfacecomponent 204 can allow the user to specify production goals for anautomation system being designed (e.g., specifying that a bottling plantbeing designed must be capable of producing at least 5000 bottles persecond during normal operation) and any other relevant designconstraints applied to the design project (e.g., budget limitations,available floor space, available control cabinet space, etc.). Based onthis information, the project generation component 206 will generateportions of the system project 302 to satisfy the specified design goalsand constraints. Portions of the system project 302 that can begenerated in this manner can include, but are not limited to, device andequipment selections (e.g., definitions of how many pumps, controllers,stations, conveyors, drives, or other assets will be needed to satisfythe specified goal), associated device configurations (e.g., tuningparameters, network settings, drive parameters, etc.), control coding,or HMI screens suitable for visualizing the automation system beingdesigned.

Some embodiments of the project generation component 206 can alsogenerate at least some of the project code for system project 302 basedon knowledge of parts that have been ordered for the project beingdeveloped. This can involve accessing the customer's account informationmaintained by an equipment vendor to identify devices that have beenpurchased for the project. Based on this information the projectgeneration component 206 can add appropriate automation objects 222 andassociated code modules 508 corresponding to the purchased assets,thereby providing a starting point for project development.

Some embodiments of project generation component 206 can also monitorcustomer-specific design approaches for commonly programmed functions(e.g., pumping applications, batch processes, palletizing operations,etc.) and generate recommendations for design modules (e.g., codemodules 508, visualizations 510, etc.) that the user may wish toincorporate into a current design project based on an inference of thedesigner's goals and learned approaches to achieving the goal. To thisend, some embodiments of project generation component 206 can beconfigured to monitor design input 512 over time and, based on thismonitoring, learn correlations between certain design actions (e.g.,addition of certain code modules or snippets to design projects,selection of certain visualizations, etc.) and types of industrialassets, industrial sequences, or industrial processes being designed.Project generation component 206 can record these learned correlationsand generate recommendations during subsequent project developmentsessions based on these correlations. For example, if project generationcomponent 206 determines, based on analysis of design input 512, that adesigner is currently developing a control project involving a type ofindustrial equipment that has been programmed and/or visualized in thepast in a repeated, predictable manner, the project generation component206 can instruct user interface component 204 to render recommendeddevelopment steps or code modules 508 the designer may wish toincorporate into the system project 302 based on how this equipment wasconfigured and/or programmed in the past.

In some embodiments, IDE system 202 can also store and implementguardrail templates 506 that define design guardrails intended to ensurethe project's compliance with internal or external design standards.Based on design parameters defined by one or more selected guardrailtemplates 506, user interface component 204 can provide, as a subset ofdesign feedback 518, dynamic recommendations or other types of feedbackdesigned to guide the developer in a manner that ensures compliance ofthe system project 302 with internal or external requirements orstandards (e.g., certifications such as TUV certification, in-housedesign standards, industry-specific or vertical-specific designstandards, etc.). This feedback 518 can take the form of text-basedrecommendations (e.g., recommendations to rewrite an indicated portionof control code to comply with a defined programming standard), syntaxhighlighting, error highlighting, auto-completion of code snippets, orother such formats. In this way, IDE system 202 can customize designfeedback 518—including programming recommendations, recommendations ofpredefined code modules 508 or visualizations 510, error and syntaxhighlighting, etc.—in accordance with the type of industrial systembeing developed and any applicable in-house design standards.

Guardrail templates 506 can also be designed to maintain compliance withglobal best practices applicable to control programming or other aspectsof project development. For example, user interface component 204 maygenerate and render an alert if a developer's control programing isdeemed to be too complex as defined by criteria specified by one or moreguardrail templates 506. Since different verticals (e.g., automotive,pharmaceutical, oil and gas, food and drug, marine, etc.) must adhere todifferent standards and certifications, the IDE system 202 can maintaina library of guardrail templates 506 for different internal and externalstandards and certifications, including customized user-specificguardrail templates 506. These guardrail templates 506 can be classifiedaccording to industrial vertical, type of industrial application, plantfacility (in the case of custom in-house guardrail templates 506) orother such categories. During development, project generation component206 can select and apply a subset of guardrail templates 506 determinedto be relevant to the project currently being developed, based on adetermination of such aspects as the industrial vertical to which theproject relates, the type of industrial application being programmed(e.g., flow control, web tension control, a certain batch process,etc.), or other such aspects. Project generation component 206 canleverage guardrail templates 506 to implement rules-based programming,whereby programming feedback (a subset of design feedback 518) such asdynamic intelligent autocorrection, type-aheads, or coding suggestionsare rendered based on encoded industry expertise and best practices(e.g., identifying inefficiencies in code being developed andrecommending appropriate corrections).

Users can also run their own internal guardrail templates 506 againstcode provided by outside vendors (e.g., OEMs) to ensure that this codecomplies with in-house programming standards. In such scenarios,vendor-provided code can be submitted to the IDE system 202, and projectgeneration component 206 can analyze this code in view of in-housecoding standards specified by one or more custom guardrail templates506. Based on results of this analysis, user interface component 204 canindicate portions of the vendor-provided code (e.g., using highlights,overlaid text, etc.) that do not conform to the programming standardsset forth by the guardrail templates 506, and display suggestions formodifying the code in order to bring the code into compliance. As analternative or in addition to recommending these modifications, someembodiments of project generation component 206 can be configured toautomatically modify the code in accordance with the recommendations tobring the code into conformance.

In making coding suggestions as part of design feedback 518, projectgeneration component 206 can invoke selected code modules 508 stored ina code module database (e.g., on memory 220). These code modules 508comprise standardized coding segments for controlling common industrialtasks or applications (e.g., palletizing, flow control, web tensioncontrol, pick-and-place applications, conveyor control, etc.). In someembodiments, code modules 508 can be categorized according to one ormore of an industrial vertical (e.g., automotive, food and drug, oil andgas, textiles, marine, pharmaceutical, etc.), an industrial application,or a type of machine or device to which the code module 508 isapplicable. In some embodiments, project generation component 206 caninfer a programmer's current programming task or design goal based onprogrammatic input being provided by the programmer (as a subset ofdesign input 512), and determine, based on this task or goal, whetherone of the pre-defined code modules 508 may be appropriately added tothe control program being developed to achieve the inferred task orgoal. For example, project generation component 206 may infer, based onanalysis of design input 512, that the programmer is currentlydeveloping control code for transferring material from a first tank toanother tank, and in response, recommend inclusion of a predefined codemodule 508 comprising standardized or frequently utilized code forcontrolling the valves, pumps, or other assets necessary to achieve thematerial transfer.

Customized guardrail templates 506 can also be defined to capturenuances of a customer site that should be taken into consideration inthe project design. For example, a guardrail template 506 could recordthe fact that the automation system being designed will be installed ina region where power outages are common, and will factor thisconsideration when generating design feedback 518; e.g., by recommendingimplementation of backup uninterruptable power supplies and suggestinghow these should be incorporated, as well as recommending associatedprogramming or control strategies that take these outages into account.

IDE system 202 can also use guardrail templates 506 to guide userselection of equipment or devices for a given design goal; e.g., basedon the industrial vertical, type of control application (e.g., sheetmetal stamping, die casting, palletization, conveyor control, webtension control, batch processing, etc.), budgetary constraints for theproject, physical constraints at the installation site (e.g., availablefloor, wall or cabinet space; dimensions of the installation space;etc.), equipment already existing at the site, etc. Some or all of theseparameters and constraints can be provided as design input 512, and userinterface component 204 can render the equipment recommendations as asubset of design feedback 518. In some embodiments, project generationcomponent 206 can also determine whether some or all existing equipmentcan be repurposed for the new control system being designed. Forexample, if a new bottling line is to be added to a production area,there may be an opportunity to leverage existing equipment since somebottling lines already exist. The decision as to which devices andequipment can be reused will affect the design of the new controlsystem. Accordingly, some of the design input 512 provided to the IDEsystem 202 can include specifics of the customer's existing systemswithin or near the installation site. In some embodiments, projectgeneration component 206 can apply artificial intelligence (AI) ortraditional analytic approaches to this information to determine whetherexisting equipment specified in design in put 512 can be repurposed orleveraged. Based on results of this analysis, project generationcomponent 206 can generate, as design feedback 518, a list of any newequipment that may need to be purchased based on these decisions.

In some embodiments, IDE system 202 can offer design recommendationsbased on an understanding of the physical environment within which theautomation system being designed will be installed. To this end,information regarding the physical environment can be submitted to theIDE system 202 (as part of design input 512) in the form of 2D or 3Dimages or video of the plant environment. This environmental informationcan also be obtained from an existing digital twin of the plant, or byanalysis of scanned environmental data obtained by a wearable ARappliance in some embodiments. Project generation component 206 cananalyze this image, video, or digital twin data to identify physicalelements within the installation area (e.g., walls, girders, safetyfences, existing machines and devices, etc.) and physical relationshipsbetween these elements. This can include ascertaining distances betweenmachines, lengths of piping runs, locations and distances of wiringharnesses or cable trays, etc. Based on results of this analysis,project generation component 206 can add context to schematics generatedas part of system project 302, generate recommendations regardingoptimal locations for devices or machines (e.g., recommending a minimumseparation between power and data cables), or make other refinements tothe system project 302. At least some of this design data can begenerated based on physics-based rules 516, which can be referenced byproject generation component 206 to determine such physical designspecifications as minimum safe distances from hazardous equipment (whichmay also factor into determining suitable locations for installation ofsafety devices relative to this equipment, given expected human orvehicle reaction times defined by the physics-based rules 516), materialselections capable of withstanding expected loads, piping configurationsand tuning for a specified flow control application, wiring gaugessuitable for an expected electrical load, minimum distances betweensignal wiring and electromagnetic field (EMF) sources to ensurenegligible electrical interference on data signals, or other such designfeatures that are dependent on physical rules.

In an example use case, relative locations of machines and devicesspecified by physical environment information submitted to the IDEsystem 202 can be used by the project generation component 206 togenerate design data for an industrial safety system. For example,project generation component 206 can analyze distance measurementsbetween safety equipment and hazardous machines and, based on thesemeasurements, determine suitable placements and configurations of safetydevices and associated safety controllers that ensure the machine willshut down within a sufficient safety reaction time to prevent injury(e.g., in the event that a person runs through a light curtain).

In some embodiments, project generation component 206 can also analyzephotographic or video data of an existing machine to determine inlinemechanical properties such as gearing or camming and factor thisinformation into one or more guardrail templates 506 or designrecommendations.

As noted above, the system project 302 generated by IDE system 202 for agiven automaton system being designed can be built upon an object-basedarchitecture that uses automation objects 222 as building blocks. FIG. 6is a diagram illustrating an example system project 302 thatincorporates automation objects 222 into the project model. In thisexample, various automation objects 222 representing analogousindustrial devices, systems, or assets of an automation system (e.g., aprocess, tanks, valves, pumps, etc.) have been incorporated into systemproject 302 as elements of a larger project data model 602. The projectdata model 602 also defines hierarchical relationships between theseautomation objects 222. According to an example relationship, a processautomation object representing a batch process may be defined as aparent object to a number of child objects representing devices andequipment that carry out the process, such as tanks, pumps, and valves.Each automation object 222 has associated therewith object properties orattributes specific to its corresponding industrial asset (e.g., thosediscussed above in connection with FIG. 4 ), including executablecontrol programming for controlling the asset (or for coordinating theactions of the asset with other industrial assets) and visualizationsthat can be used to render relevant information about the asset duringruntime.

At least some of the attributes of each automation object 222 aredefault properties defined by the IDE system 202 based on encodedindustry expertise pertaining to the asset represented by the objects.Other properties can be modified or added by the developer as needed(via design input 512) to customize the object 222 for the particularasset and/or industrial application for which the system projects 302 isbeing developed. This can include, for example, associating customizedcontrol code, HMI screens, AR presentations, or help files associatedwith selected automation objects 222. In this way, automation objects222 can be created and augmented as needed during design for consumptionor execution by target control devices during runtime.

Once development on a system project 302 has been completed,commissioning tools supported by the IDE system 202 can simplify theprocess of commissioning the project in the field. When the systemproject 302 for a given automation system has been completed, the systemproject 302 can be deployed to one or more target control devices forexecution. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating commissioning of a systemproject 302. Project deployment component 208 can compile or otherwisetranslate a completed system project 302 into one or more executablefiles or configuration files that can be stored and executed onrespective target industrial devices of the automation system (e.g.,industrial controllers 118, HMI terminals 114 or other types ofvisualization systems, motor drives 710, telemetry devices, visionsystems, safety relays, etc.).

Conventional control program development platforms require the developerto specify the type of industrial controller (e.g., the controller'smodel number) on which the control program will run prior todevelopment, thereby binding the control programming to a specifiedcontroller. Controller-specific guardrails are then enforced duringprogram development which limit how the program is developed given thecapabilities of the selected controller. By contrast, some embodimentsof the IDE system 202 can abstract project development from the specificcontroller type, allowing the designer to develop the system project 302as a logical representation of the automation system in a manner that isagnostic to where and how the various control aspects of system project302 will run. Once project development is complete and system project302 is ready for commissioning, the user can specify (via user interfacecomponent 204) target devices on which respective aspects of the systemproject 302 are to be executed. In response, an allocation engine of theproject deployment component 208 will translate aspects of the systemproject 302 to respective executable files formatted for storage andexecution on their respective target devices.

For example, system project 302 may include—among other projectaspects—control code, visualization screen definitions, and motor driveparameter definitions. Upon completion of project development, a usercan identify which target devices—including an industrial controller118, an HMI terminal 114, and a motor drive 710—are to execute orreceive these respective aspects of the system project 302. Projectdeployment component 208 can then translate the controller code definedby the system project 302 to a control program file 702 formatted forexecution on the specified industrial controller 118 and send thiscontrol program file 702 to the controller 118 (e.g., via plant network116). Similarly, project deployment component 208 can translate thevisualization definitions and motor drive parameter definitions to avisualization application 704 and a device configuration file 708,respectively, and deploy these files to their respective target devicesfor execution and/or device configuration.

In general, project deployment component 208 performs any conversionsnecessary to allow aspects of system project 302 to execute on thespecified devices. Any inherent relationships, handshakes, or datasharing defined in the system project 302 are maintained regardless ofhow the various elements of the system project 302 are distributed. Inthis way, embodiments of the IDE system 202 can decouple the projectfrom how and where the project is to be run. This also allows the samesystem project 302 to be commissioned at different plant facilitieshaving different sets of control equipment. That is, some embodiments ofthe IDE system 202 can allocate project code to different target devicesas a function of the particular devices found on-site. IDE system 202can also allow some portions of the project file to be commissioned asan emulator or on a cloud-based controller.

As an alternative to having the user specify the target control devicesto which the system project 302 is to be deployed, some embodiments ofIDE system 202 can actively connect to the plant network 116 anddiscover available devices, ascertain the control hardware architecturepresent on the plant floor, infer appropriate target devices forrespective executable aspects of system project 302, and deploy thesystem project 302 to these selected target devices. As part of thiscommissioning process, IDE system 202 can also connect to remoteknowledgebases (e.g., web-based or cloud-based knowledgebases) todetermine which discovered devices are out of date or require firmwareupgrade to properly execute the system project 302. In this way, the IDEsystem 202 can serve as a link between device vendors and a customer'splant ecosystem via a trusted connection in the cloud.

Copies of system project 302 can be propagated to multiple plantfacilities having varying equipment configurations using smartpropagation, whereby the project deployment component 208 intelligentlyassociates project components with the correct industrial asset orcontrol device even if the equipment on-site does not perfectly matchthe defined target (e.g., if different pump types are found at differentsites). For target devices that do not perfectly match the expectedasset, project deployment component 208 can calculate the estimatedimpact of running the system project 302 on non-optimal target equipmentand generate warnings or recommendations for mitigating expecteddeviations from optimal project execution.

As noted above, some embodiments of IDE system 202 can be embodied on acloud platform. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example architecturein which cloud-based IDE services 802 are used to develop and deployindustrial applications to a plant environment. In this example, theindustrial environment includes one or more industrial controllers 118,HMI terminals 114, motor drives 710, servers 801 running higher levelapplications (e.g., ERP, MES, etc.), and other such industrial assets.These industrial assets are connected to a plant network 116 (e.g., acommon industrial protocol network, an Ethernet/IP network, etc.) thatfacilitates data exchange between industrial devices on the plant floor.Plant network 116 may be a wired or a wireless network. In theillustrated example, the high-level servers 810 reside on a separateoffice network 108 that is connected to the plant network 116 (e.g.,through a router 808 or other network infrastructure device).

In this example, IDE system 202 resides on a cloud platform 806 andexecutes as a set of cloud-based IDE service 802 that are accessible toauthorized remote client devices 504. Cloud platform 806 can be anyinfrastructure that allows shared computing services (such as IDEservices 802) to be accessed and utilized by cloud-capable devices.Cloud platform 806 can be a public cloud accessible via the Internet bydevices 504 having Internet connectivity and appropriate authorizationsto utilize the IDE services 802. In some scenarios, cloud platform 806can be provided by a cloud provider as a platform-as-a-service (PaaS),and the IDE services 802 can reside and execute on the cloud platform806 as a cloud-based service. In some such configurations, access to thecloud platform 806 and associated IDE services 802 can be provided tocustomers as a subscription service by an owner of the IDE services 802.Alternatively, cloud platform 806 can be a private cloud operatedinternally by the industrial enterprise (the owner of the plantfacility). An example private cloud platform can comprise a set ofservers hosting the IDE services 802 and residing on a corporate networkprotected by a firewall.

Cloud-based implementations of IDE system 202 can facilitatecollaborative development by multiple remote developers who areauthorized to access the IDE services 802. When a system project 302 isready for deployment, the project 302 can be commissioned to the plantfacility via a secure connection between the office network 108 or theplant network 116 and the cloud platform 806. As discussed above, theindustrial IDE services 802 can translate system project 302 to one ormore appropriate executable files—control program files 702,visualization applications 704, device configuration files 708, systemconfiguration files 812—and deploy these files to the appropriatedevices in the plant facility to facilitate implementation of theautomation project.

In some embodiments, the IDE system's IDE editor 224 and associated userinterface 204 can comprise open application programming interfaces(APIs) that allow third parties—such as OEMs, system integrators,industrial asset owners, or other such users—to build upon the IDE'sdevelopment platform by creating custom views of the developmentenvironment, customize programming syntax, coding custom IDEfunctionality, or otherwise customizing the IDE's interface. FIG. 9 is adiagram illustrating customization of the IDE system's developmentinterface according to one or more embodiments. In this example, userinterface component 204 and/or the associated IDE editor 224 includeopen APIs that afford authorized users programmatic access to a selectedsubset of the IDE system's low-level services and data models that wouldotherwise remain proprietary to the IDE system's provider, allowing endusers to alter or customize the IDE's development environment.

To facilitate customization of the IDE system's development interface,the user interface component 240 and IDE editor 224 can be associatedwith an editor definition component 210 that can modify the IDE editor'sprogramming interfaces based on interface definition data 902 submittedby a user (e.g., via IDE client 514 executing on a client device 504communicatively connected to the IDE system 202; see FIG. 5 ). Theeditor definition component 210 allows the user to define or modifysource code programming syntax supported by the IDE editor 224, modifyexisting development environment interfaces or create new interfaces fordeveloping aspects of a system project 302, modify or create IDE editingfunctions, create customized guardrail templates 506, define types ofdesign feedback 518 to be generated by the user interface component 204for guiding the developer through the design and programming workflow ina manner that encourages compliance with an in-house programming ordesign standard, or define other such features of the IDE system'sdevelopment interface. Editor definition component 210 can reconfigurethe IDE editor 224 and/or user interface component 204 based on thisinterface definition data 902 to thereby customize the IDE's developmentinterface in accordance with user requirements or preferences. In thisway, the IDE system's APIs can extend the IDE platform to third-partyusers, allowing users to define the look and functionality of theirversion of the IDE system's development interface.

Based on the interface definition data 902 submitted by the user, IDEeditor 224 and the associated user interface component 204 will renderappropriately customized application development interfaces 904 andassociated design feedback in accordance with the user's interfacedefinition data 902. For example, in accordance with the interfacedefinition data 902, the IDE editor 224 and user interface component 204may render control code syntax highlighting or error highlightingdesigned to enforce an in-house standard for control programming. Thishighlighting may be applied to certain programming syntax, and undercertain conditions, specified by the interface definition data 902(e.g., by customized guardrail templates defined by interface definitiondata 902).

The customized development interfaces 904 can also facilitate receipt ofcontrol code programming (e.g., control logic function blocks,industrial domain specific language syntax, etc.) formatted according toa syntax specified by the interface definition data 902. For example,the interface definition data 902 may specify a scripted industrial DSLprogramming syntax to be supported by the IDE editor 224. Based on thisDSL specification, IDE editor 224 and user interface component 204 willgenerate development interfaces 904 that facilitate receipt of scriptedcontrol programming formatted in accordance with the industrial DSLspecification. Moreover, the IDE editor 224 will be configured tocompile the received industrial DSL script to yield executable controlcode formatted for execution on an industrial control device. Forexample, based on the programming syntax definitions submitted as partof interface definition data 902, editor definition component 210 canmap the user-defined syntax to a native language supported by the IDEeditor 224, which can apply appropriate translations between theuser-defined syntax and the native language.

In another example, the industrial IDE system 202 can support industrialprogramming languages such as ladder logic, and editor definitioncomponent 210 can allow users to customize the ladder logic developmentenvironment according to their preferences. This can include alteringthe native nomenclature of the ladder logic editor to preferrednomenclature preferred by the user. For example, interface definitiondata 902 submitted by the user can include nomenclature mappingdefinitions that map the ladder logic editor's native nomenclature topreferred nomenclature specified by the user. In an example scenario,the function for moving a data value from a source register to adestination register may be referred to as a MOV command in the editor'snative nomenclature. To add this functionality to a control program,users must select and add a MOV function block to a rung output of theirladder logic program. Since the name of this function block may beconsidered ambiguous to some programmers, a user may wish to change thename of this function block to MOVE to more explicitly convey thefunction associated with this command. Accordingly, the editordefinition component 210 can allow the user to change the name of thiscommand from MOV to MOVE by submitting interface definition data 902that defines this nomenclature mapping. Once this mapping has beendefined, all instances of the MOV command will be labeled MOVE withinthe ladder logic editing environment. Other aspects of the ladder logiceditor, including but not limited to text or rung colors, function blockdimensions or sizes, locations and visibility of toolbars, or other suchfeatures can also be customized in this manner.

Interface definition data 902 can also define or modify editingfunctions supported by the IDE editor 224. New editing functions thatcan be defined by interface definition data 902 can include, but are notlimited to, auto-complete functions that automatically add specifiedcode segments or automation objects to a control program in developmentwhen certain criteria relative to the program become satisfied,customized copy-and-paste functions, automated deletion of non-compliantcode that satisfies a defined condition for non-compliance, or othersuch functions. In the case of new custom editing functions to beinitiated by user selection, interface definition data 902 can specifyboth the editing function and the location of an interface control(e.g., a button, drop-down menu, etc.) on the development interface tobe displayed by the user interface component 204.

Interface definition data 902 can also specify design suggestions to berendered on the custom development interfaces 904 under specifiedconditions relative to the control project being developed. Thesesuggestions can include, for example, suggestions for rewriting orreorganizing control code to conform to in-house programming standardsspecified by the interface definition data 902, suggested automationobjects to be added to the system project based on an inference of theprogrammer's intentions (e.g., recommending addition of a pumpautomation object at an appropriate location in the control program ifthe developer is determined to be scripting a flow control application),or other such automated recommendations.

Interface definition data 902 may also include definition of custom datatypes or custom automation objects to be supported by the IDE editor 224and user interface component 204 in some embodiments.

Interface definition data 902 can also specify the general layout andaesthetic properties of the custom development interfaces 904, includingbut not limited to locations and orientations of editing toolbars, colorschemes, audible feedback generated by the custom interfaces 904, customscreen navigations, or other such properties.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating components of an example editordefinition component 210 according to one or more embodiments. In anexample implementation, a software development kit (SDK) 1002 and/orassociated libraries 1004 can be licensed that allows users (e.g., OEMsor system integrators) to build their own IDE editor 224, buildextensions, access the IDE system's logical model, and add to systemprojects 302. In some embodiments, the open APIs 1006 can also allowusers to create their own language script as a customized industrialDSL, which can then be parsed and compiled by the project developmentcomponent 208 to executable control code that is understandable andexecutable by industrial control devices. A translator 1008 between theAPIs 1006 and the IDE development platform can expose the system project302 and allow users to write their own control code and customize theIDE editor 224.

As noted above in connection with FIG. 8 , some embodiments of IDEsystem 202 can reside on a cloud platform 806 and execute as a set ofcloud-based IDE service 802 that are accessible to authorized remoteclient devices 504. This allows multiple end users, who may beassociated with different industrial enterprises, to access and utilizethe industrial IDE services for development of their own industrialsystem projects 302. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating multi-tenancy ofthe cloud-based industrial IDE services 802 in which each client device504 is permitted to separately customize their own developmentenvironment interfaces. In this example, the industrial IDE services 802are made accessible to multiple authorized clients (associated withrespective client devices 504 a-504 c) in a secure manner. Editordefinition services (associated with editor definition component 210)can allow each client device 504 a-504 c to separately submit interfacedefinition data 902 a-902 c to thereby separately configure their owncustomized development platform interfaces 904 and forms of dynamicdesign feedback.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating multi-tenancy of the cloud-basedindustrial IDE services 802 in which each client device 504 a-504 cleverages the centralized industrial IDE services 802 to develop theirown industrial system projects 302 a-302 c. Using their respectivecustomized design interfaces 904 a-904 c, each end user can interfacewith the IDE services 802 to submit design input 512 a-512 c and developindustrial system projects 302 a-302 c. IDE services 802 will generateand render customized design feedback 518 a-518 c to each user's clientdevice 504 a-504 c in accordance with the interface definition data 902a-902 c submitted by each user specifying the types design feedback andconditions under which this feedback is provided. System projects 302a-302 c are securely stored on the cloud platform 806 duringdevelopment, and can be deployed to each respective user's automationsystem devices from the cloud platform (as depicted in FIG. 8 ) or canbe downloaded to the respective client devices 504 a-504 c for localizeddeployment from the client device 504 to one or more industrial devices.Since IDE services 802 reside on a cloud-platform with access tointernet-based resources, some embodiments of the IDE services 802 canalso allow users to access remote web-based knowledgebases, vendorequipment catalogs, or other sources of information that may assist indeveloping their industrial control projects.

Cloud-based IDE services 802 can support true multi-tenancy across thelayers of authentication authorization, data segregation at the logicallevel, and network segregation at the logical level. End users canaccess the industrial IDE services 802 on the cloud platform 806, andeach end user's development data—including design input 512, designfeedback 518, and system projects 302—is encrypted (e.g., by encryptioncomponent 212) such that each end user can only view their own data. Inan example implementation, an administrator of the cloud-basedindustrial IDE services 802 may maintain a master virtual private cloud(VPC) with appropriate security features, and each end user can beallocated a portion of this VPC for their own access to the IDE services802. In an example embodiment, an encrypted multi-protocol labelswitching (MPLS) channel can protect the entire corpus of an end user'sdata such that the data can only be viewed by specific computers ordomains that have an appropriate certificate.

Cloud-based implementations of industrial IDE system 202 can also allowdevelopers associated with the same industrial enterprise to work on acommon system project 302 from separate remote locations. Although thesecollaborative developers work on the same system project 302, the editordefinition component 210 described above allows each developer toindependently customize their version of the development platforminterface as desired, and to interface with the master copy of thesystem project 302 with their own customized development interfaces.Collaborative tools supported by the IDE system can manage designcontributions from the multiple collaborative developers and performversion control of the aggregate system project 302 to ensure projectconsistency. These tools can include, for example, mediating orbrokering between different versions of code submitted for the sameproject aspect from multiple developers, tracking each developer'sdesign contribution to the system project 302, sharing of developmentnotes, etc.

In some embodiments, the cloud-based IDE services 802 can also serve asa trusted proxy that allows industrial project developers to securelyconnect to remote tech support personnel for assistance in connectionwith developing a control system project 302. FIG. 13 is a diagramillustrating the use of IDE services as a proxy between a plant-basedproject developer and remote technical support personnel. In thisembodiment, industrial IDE services 802 include associated proxyservices 1308 (implemented by proxy component 214) that manageconnectivity and data exchange between a developer's client device 504and remote technical support. In cloud-based implementations, each enduser's system project 302 (e.g., a completed system project 302 for anautomation system currently in operation or a pending system project 302in development for an automation system to be commissioned) is securelymaintained on the cloud platform. Proxy services 1308 can permitauthorized technical support personnel (associated with client device1310) to access some or all of a given customer's system project datausing the IDE services 802 to proxy into the customer's data. Thetechnical support entity may be, for example, an administrator of theIDE services 802, an OEM who manufactures a machine for which controlprogramming is being developed, a system integrator, an equipmentvendor, or another such entity. In some embodiments, the end user canselectively permit access to a selected subset of their system projectdata, while prohibiting access to other portions of their system project302 from the technical support personnel, thereby protecting sensitiveor proprietary project information.

During development of a system project 302, the developer may wish torequest assistance from the remote technical support entity.Accordingly, the IDE development interface can include controls thatallow the end user to submit an assistance request 1302. The assistancerequest 1302 may specify a particular aspect of the system project 302for which assistance is required (e.g., a control code routine, avisualization screen, device selection or compatibility, configurationof a specified industrial device, etc.). In some embodiments, proxycomponent 214 may perform additional processing on the assistancerequest 1302 prior to sending a request to a remote supportrepresentative. Proxy component 214 can perform this additionalprocessing based in part on previously captured knowledge of the enduser's automation system in development, or the customer's larger plantfacility. For example, proxy component 214 can glean additionalcustomer-specific context that may assist in solving the design problemfor which assistance is being requested. Such context may includeadditional information about the devices and/or machines that make upthe automation system for which the system project 302 is beingdeveloped (e.g., identities of such devices, as well as their role inthe overall industrial system and their functional relationships to oneanother), other upstream or downstream processes relative to theautomation system being designed, whose operations may have an impact onoperation of the new automation system, etc.

In response to receipt of the assistance request 1302, proxy component214 can select an available technical support person determined to bequalified to assist with the request—e.g., based on information storedin competency profiles for respective technical support peopleindicating each person's level of training, areas of expertise,equipment for which the person has experience, etc.—and open a remotecommunication channel to the selected technical support person.

Once this communication channel is established, the technical supportperson can access, view, and modify selected subsets of customer projectdata 1304 (via customer support client device 1310) obtained from thesystem project 302. The technical support person can submit designassistance 1306 in the form of direct modifications to aspects of theend user's system project 302 (e.g., control code rewrites, setting ofdevice configurations, etc.) or design feedback 1312 submitted to theend user recommending certain modifications or otherwise providingdesign guidance. In some embodiments, the cloud-based IDE system 202 canalso serve as a trusted proxy through which technical support personnelcan remotely access equipment at the end user's plant facility; e.g.,for the purposes of remotely configuring the user's devices, viewing ormodifying control programming on an industrial controller orvisualization screens on an HMI terminal, etc.

FIGS. 14-16 illustrate various methodologies in accordance with one ormore embodiments of the subject application. While, for purposes ofsimplicity of explanation, the one or more methodologies shown hereinare shown and described as a series of acts, it is to be understood andappreciated that the subject innovation is not limited by the order ofacts, as some acts may, in accordance therewith, occur in a differentorder and/or concurrently with other acts from that shown and describedherein. For example, those skilled in the art will understand andappreciate that a methodology could alternatively be represented as aseries of interrelated states or events, such as in a state diagram.Moreover, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement amethodology in accordance with the innovation. Furthermore, interactiondiagram(s) may represent methodologies, or methods, in accordance withthe subject disclosure when disparate entities enact disparate portionsof the methodologies. Further yet, two or more of the disclosed examplemethods can be implemented in combination with each other, to accomplishone or more features or advantages described herein.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example methodology 1400 for extending anindustrial IDE platform to end users to permit creation of customizeddevelopment platform views and functionality, and the use of thesecustomized views to develop industrial control code, visualizations, anddevice configurations. Initially, at 1402, interface definition data isreceived that defines a development platform interface for an industrialIDE. This interface definition data can be received from an end user ofthe industrial IDE platform, facilitated by open APIs that extend aselected subset of the industrial IDE's low-level services and datamodels to end users, permitting users to programmatically access theseservices to alter or customize the IDE's development environment asdesired. The interface definition data can define, for example,development environment views or screens to be used to developindustrial control code, visualizations (e.g., HMI screens, AR/VRvisualizations, mashups, etc.), device configuration settings, andengineering drawings (e.g., electrical drawings, mechanical drawings,piping and instrumentation diagrams, etc.). The interface definitiondata can also define programming syntax to be used to develop industrialcontrol programming (e.g., control logic function blocks, industrialdomain specific language syntax, etc.), editing functions to besupported by the industrial IDE, programming guardrails that define theconditions and formatting for design feedback to be rendered by theindustrial IDE, or other such features.

At 1404, a development interface of the industrial IDE is customized inaccordance with the interface definition data received at step 1402. At1406, the customized IDE development interface is rendered on a clientdevice associated with a user or industrial enterprise from which theinterface definition data was received at step 1402.

At 1408, industrial design data is received via interaction with thecustomized IDE development interface rendered at step 1406. Theindustrial design data can be submitted in the form of one or more ofindustrial controller programming (e.g., ladder logic, sequentialfunction charts, scripted control code such as an industrial DSL, etc.),HMI screen development input, industrial device or equipment selections,engineering drawing input, etc. In some embodiments, the industrialdesign data can also include completed engineering drawings (e.g., P&IDdrawings, electrical drawings, mechanical drawings, etc.), which can beparsed and analyzed by the industrial IDE to identify components of theindustrial automation system being designed (e.g., industrial devices,machines, equipment, conduit, piping, etc.) as well as functional andphysical relationships between these components.

Design data can also comprise images or video in some embodiments. Forexample, an image or video of an installation site at which theindustrial automation system being designed is to be installed can besubmitted to the industrial IDE, which can analyze the image or video toidentify physical elements within the installation area (e.g., walls,girders, safety fences, existing machines and devices, etc.) andphysical relationships between these elements (e.g., distances betweenmachines or other physical elements, lengths of piping runs, locationsand distances of wiring harnesses or cable trays, etc.). Based onresults of this drawing or image/video analysis, the industrial IDE canadd components to engineering schematics, generate control programmingor visualizations for components identified in the drawings or images,generate suitable device parameter settings, generate recommendationsregarding optimal locations for devices or machines, etc.

For embodiments of the industrial IDE that support goal-basedprogramming, the design data can also comprise an indication of adesired design goal and associated design constraints; e.g., in terms ofa required product or material output rate, a maximum total energyconsumption rate, constraints on installation space (which may beobtained based on images or video of the installation site, as describedabove), or other such parameters. Based on these design goals andconstraints, the industrial IDE can generate at least a portion of theautomation system project, including one or more of equipment or deviceselections, control code, drawings, visualizations, or device parameterscapable of satisfying the specified design goals in view of thespecified constraints.

At 1410, design feedback is rendered as the industrial controlprogramming is received, where at least a portion of the design feedbackaccords with the interface definition data received at step 1402.Example design feedback can include, for example, control code syntaxhighlighting or error highlighting designed to enforce in-house orindustry-standard coding practices (which may be generated based onuser-defined programming guardrail templates defined by the interfacedefinition data), suggestions for rewriting or reorganizing control codeto conform to in-house programming standards specified by the interfacedefinition data, suggested automation objects to be added to the designproject based on an inference of the programmer's intentions,auto-completing sections of code by adding predefined vertical-specificor application-specific code modules for common control operations, orother such feedback.

At 1412, a determination is made as to whether project development iscomplete. This determination may be made, for example, in response to anindication from the developer that the automation system project isready to be parsed and compiled. If development is not complete (NO atstep 1412) the methodology returns to step 1408. Steps 1408 and 1410 arerepeated until development is complete (YES at step 1412), at which timethe methodology proceeds to step 1414.

At 1414, the industrial design data received at step 1408 (guided bydesign feedback received at step 1410) is compiled into a system projectcomprising one or more executable files that can be deployed andexecuted on at least one of an industrial control device (e.g., a PLC oranother type of industrial control device), a human-machine interfaceterminal, or another type of industrial device.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example methodology 1500 for generating anddeploying industrial control software using an industrial IDE platform.Initially, at 1502, at least one of user input specifying a design goalfor an industrial automation system, an engineering drawing of one ormore aspects of the industrial automation system (e.g., P&ID drawings,electrical schematics, mechanical drawings, network drawings, etc.), ora digital model of a plant facility in which the industrial automationsystem is to be installed is received by an industrial IDE.

At 1506, industrial design data is extracted from at least one of theuser input specifying the design goal, the engineering drawing, or thedigital model of the plant facility. For example, the design goal mayspecify a minimum product throughput required of the automation system,a maximum energy consumption expected of the automation system, aminimum daily or weekly runtime expected of the automation system, amaximum fuel cost expected of the automation system, or other suchdesign goals. Based on these specified design goals, the industrial IDEcan generate design data that at least one of specifies type andquantities of devices, machines or other industrial assets capable ofsatisfying the design goals, defines a control algorithm for controllingone or more industrial assets in a manner that satisfies the designgoals, specifies device configuration parameter settings for configuringone or more industrial assets (e.g., industrial controllers, motordrives, vision systems, industrial safety devices, etc.) in a mannerthat complies with the specified design goals, etc.

At 1506, system project data is generated for the industrial automationproject based on the design data extracted at step 1504, where thesystem project data comprises at least automation objects, control codethat is executable on one or more industrial control devices, andvisualization data that can be executed on a visualization system (e.g.,an HMI terminal, an AR/VR system, etc.). At 1508 the system project datagenerated at step 1506 is deployed to one or more of an industrialcontrol device, an industrial visualization system, or another type ofconfigurable industrial device for execution.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example methodology 1600 for applying industrialvertical-specific programming guardrails during industrial controlprogramming development. Initially, at 1602, industrial design data isreceived via interaction with an industrial IDE. The industrial designdata may comprise, for example, industrial controller programmingformatted as ladder logic, script-based programming (e.g., an industrialDSL), sequential function charts, structured text, or other suchformats. The design data may also comprise an industrial visualizationconfiguration, such as HMI screen development input for designing HMIscreen content, properties, and navigations.

At 1604, an industrial vertical to which the design data received at1602 relates is determined based on analysis of the design data. Exampleverticals can include, but are not limited to, automotive, food anddrug, oil and gas, marine, textiles, pharmaceuticals, mining, or othersuch verticals. The industrial IDE can determine the relevant industrialvertical based on analysis of any suitable characteristic of the designdata, including but not limited to program comments, inclusion ofcontrol routines or programmed sequences that are characteristic of acertain industrial vertical, an explicit indication of the relevantvertical submitted by a designer, or other such characteristics.

At 1608, a determination is made as to whether a programming guardrailtemplate is available for the industrial vertical determined at step1604. In this regard, the industrial IDE may maintain a library ofvertical-specific programming guardrail templates that each defineprogramming standards, guidelines, or restrictions that are applicablefor a given industrial vertical. In the case of some verticals, theguardrail templates may define programming standards that must beadhered to for certification or compliance with prevailing industrystandards.

If no programming guardrail template is available for the vertical (NOat step 1608), the methodology returns to step 1602 and steps 1602-1608repeat. Alternatively, if a programming guardrail template is availablefor the vertical (YES at step 1608), the methodology proceeds to step1610, where the programming guardrail template is applied to rendervertical-specific programming feedback during receipt of the industrialdesign data. The programming feedback can comprise, for example,highlighting of industrial code portions that are not in compliance withthe standards defined by the guardrail template, recommendations forrewriting or reorganizing the control programming in a manner thatbrings the programming into compliance, suggestions for includingselected predefined code modules, automation objects, or visualizationscreens relevant to the industrial vertical, or other such feedback.

Embodiments, systems, and components described herein, as well ascontrol systems and automation environments in which various aspects setforth in the subject specification can be carried out, can includecomputer or network components such as servers, clients, programmablelogic controllers (PLCs), automation controllers, communicationsmodules, mobile computers, on-board computers for mobile vehicles,wireless components, control components and so forth which are capableof interacting across a network. Computers and servers include one ormore processors—electronic integrated circuits that perform logicoperations employing electric signals—configured to execute instructionsstored in media such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory(ROM), a hard drives, as well as removable memory devices, which caninclude memory sticks, memory cards, flash drives, external hard drives,and so on.

Similarly, the term PLC or automation controller as used herein caninclude functionality that can be shared across multiple components,systems, and/or networks. As an example, one or more PLCs or automationcontrollers can communicate and cooperate with various network devicesacross the network. This can include substantially any type of control,communications module, computer, Input/Output (I/O) device, sensor,actuator, and human machine interface (HMI) that communicate via thenetwork, which includes control, automation, and/or public networks. ThePLC or automation controller can also communicate to and control variousother devices such as standard or safety-rated I/O modules includinganalog, digital, programmed/intelligent I/O modules, other programmablecontrollers, communications modules, sensors, actuators, output devices,and the like.

The network can include public networks such as the internet, intranets,and automation networks such as control and information protocol (CIP)networks including DeviceNet, ControlNet, safety networks, andEthernet/IP. Other networks include Ethernet, DH/DH+, Remote I/O,Fieldbus, Modbus, Profibus, CAN, wireless networks, serial protocols,and so forth. In addition, the network devices can include variouspossibilities (hardware and/or software components). These includecomponents such as switches with virtual local area network (VLAN)capability, LANs, WANs, proxies, gateways, routers, firewalls, virtualprivate network (VPN) devices, servers, clients, computers,configuration tools, monitoring tools, and/or other devices.

In order to provide a context for the various aspects of the disclosedsubject matter, FIGS. 17 and 18 as well as the following discussion areintended to provide a brief, general description of a suitableenvironment in which the various aspects of the disclosed subject mattermay be implemented. While the embodiments have been described above inthe general context of computer-executable instructions that can run onone or more computers, those skilled in the art will recognize that theembodiments can be also implemented in combination with other programmodules and/or as a combination of hardware and software.

Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, datastructures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particularabstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the inventive methods can be practiced with other computer systemconfigurations, including single-processor or multiprocessor computersystems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, Internet of Things (IoT)devices, distributed computing systems, as well as personal computers,hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based or programmableconsumer electronics, and the like, each of which can be operativelycoupled to one or more associated devices.

The illustrated embodiments herein can be also practiced in distributedcomputing environments where certain tasks are performed by remoteprocessing devices that are linked through a communications network. Ina distributed computing environment, program modules can be located inboth local and remote memory storage devices.

Computing devices typically include a variety of media, which caninclude computer-readable storage media, machine-readable storage media,and/or communications media, which two terms are used herein differentlyfrom one another as follows. Computer-readable storage media ormachine-readable storage media can be any available storage media thatcan be accessed by the computer and includes both volatile andnonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example,and not limitation, computer-readable storage media or machine-readablestorage media can be implemented in connection with any method ortechnology for storage of information such as computer-readable ormachine-readable instructions, program modules, structured data orunstructured data.

Computer-readable storage media can include, but are not limited to,random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), electricallyerasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or othermemory technology, compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), digitalversatile disk (DVD), Blu-ray disc (BD) or other optical disk storage,magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, solid state drives or other solid statestorage devices, or other tangible and/or non-transitory media which canbe used to store desired information. In this regard, the terms“tangible” or “non-transitory” herein as applied to storage, memory orcomputer-readable media, are to be understood to exclude onlypropagating transitory signals per se as modifiers and do not relinquishrights to all standard storage, memory or computer-readable media thatare not only propagating transitory signals per se.

Computer-readable storage media can be accessed by one or more local orremote computing devices, e.g., via access requests, queries or otherdata retrieval protocols, for a variety of operations with respect tothe information stored by the medium.

Communications media typically embody computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other structured or unstructureddata in a data signal such as a modulated data signal, e.g., a carrierwave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information deliveryor transport media. The term “modulated data signal” or signals refersto a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changedin such a manner as to encode information in one or more signals. By wayof example, and not limitation, communication media include wired media,such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless mediasuch as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.

With reference again to FIG. 17 , the example environment 1700 forimplementing various embodiments of the aspects described hereinincludes a computer 1702, the computer 1702 including a processing unit1704, a system memory 1706 and a system bus 1708. The system bus 1708couples system components including, but not limited to, the systemmemory 1706 to the processing unit 1704. The processing unit 1704 can beany of various commercially available processors. Dual microprocessorsand other multi-processor architectures can also be employed as theprocessing unit 1704.

The system bus 1708 can be any of several types of bus structure thatcan further interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memorycontroller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety ofcommercially available bus architectures. The system memory 1706includes ROM 1710 and RAM 1712. A basic input/output system (BIOS) canbe stored in a non-volatile memory such as ROM, erasable programmableread only memory (EPROM), EEPROM, which BIOS contains the basic routinesthat help to transfer information between elements within the computer1702, such as during startup. The RAM 1712 can also include a high-speedRAM such as static RAM for caching data.

The computer 1702 further includes an internal hard disk drive (HDD)1714 (e.g., EIDE, SATA), one or more external storage devices 1716(e.g., a magnetic floppy disk drive (FDD) 1716, a memory stick or flashdrive reader, a memory card reader, etc.) and an optical disk drive 1720(e.g., which can read or write from a CD-ROM disc, a DVD, a BD, etc.).While the internal HDD 1714 is illustrated as located within thecomputer 1702, the internal HDD 1714 can also be configured for externaluse in a suitable chassis (not shown). Additionally, while not shown inenvironment 1700, a solid state drive (SSD) could be used in additionto, or in place of, an HDD 1714. The HDD 1714, external storagedevice(s) 1716 and optical disk drive 1720 can be connected to thesystem bus 1708 by an HDD interface 1724, an external storage interface1726 and an optical drive interface 1728, respectively. The interface1724 for external drive implementations can include at least one or bothof Universal Serial Bus (USB) and Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394 interface technologies. Other externaldrive connection technologies are within contemplation of theembodiments described herein.

The drives and their associated computer-readable storage media providenonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executableinstructions, and so forth. For the computer 1702, the drives andstorage media accommodate the storage of any data in a suitable digitalformat. Although the description of computer-readable storage mediaabove refers to respective types of storage devices, it should beappreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of storagemedia which are readable by a computer, whether presently existing ordeveloped in the future, could also be used in the example operatingenvironment, and further, that any such storage media can containcomputer-executable instructions for performing the methods describedherein.

A number of program modules can be stored in the drives and RAM 1712,including an operating system 1730, one or more application programs1732, other program modules 1734 and program data 1736. All or portionsof the operating system, applications, modules, and/or data can also becached in the RAM 1712. The systems and methods described herein can beimplemented utilizing various commercially available operating systemsor combinations of operating systems.

Computer 1702 can optionally comprise emulation technologies. Forexample, a hypervisor (not shown) or other intermediary can emulate ahardware environment for operating system 1730, and the emulatedhardware can optionally be different from the hardware illustrated inFIG. 17 . In such an embodiment, operating system 1730 can comprise onevirtual machine (VM) of multiple VMs hosted at computer 1702.Furthermore, operating system 1730 can provide runtime environments,such as the Java runtime environment or the .NET framework, forapplication programs 1732. Runtime environments are consistent executionenvironments that allow application programs 1732 to run on anyoperating system that includes the runtime environment. Similarly,operating system 1730 can support containers, and application programs1732 can be in the form of containers, which are lightweight,standalone, executable packages of software that include, e.g., code,runtime, system tools, system libraries and settings for an application.

Further, computer 1702 can be enable with a security module, such as atrusted processing module (TPM). For instance with a TPM, bootcomponents hash next in time boot components, and wait for a match ofresults to secured values, before loading a next boot component. Thisprocess can take place at any layer in the code execution stack ofcomputer 1702, e.g., applied at the application execution level or atthe operating system (OS) kernel level, thereby enabling security at anylevel of code execution.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer 1702 throughone or more wired/wireless input devices, e.g., a keyboard 1738, a touchscreen 1740, and a pointing device, such as a mouse 1742. Other inputdevices (not shown) can include a microphone, an infrared (IR) remotecontrol, a radio frequency (RF) remote control, or other remote control,a joystick, a virtual reality controller and/or virtual reality headset,a game pad, a stylus pen, an image input device, e.g., camera(s), agesture sensor input device, a vision movement sensor input device, anemotion or facial detection device, a biometric input device, e.g.,fingerprint or iris scanner, or the like. These and other input devicesare often connected to the processing unit 1704 through an input deviceinterface 1744 that can be coupled to the system bus 1708, but can beconnected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, an IEEE 1394serial port, a game port, a USB port, an IR interface, a BLUETOOTH®interface, etc.

A monitor 1744 or other type of display device can be also connected tothe system bus 1708 via an interface, such as a video adapter 1746. Inaddition to the monitor 1744, a computer typically includes otherperipheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, etc.

The computer 1702 can operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections via wired and/or wireless communications to one or moreremote computers, such as a remote computer(s) 1748. The remotecomputer(s) 1748 can be a workstation, a server computer, a router, apersonal computer, portable computer, microprocessor-based entertainmentappliance, a peer device or other common network node, and typicallyincludes many or all of the elements described relative to the computer1702, although, for purposes of brevity, only a memory/storage device1750 is illustrated. The logical connections depicted includewired/wireless connectivity to a local area network (LAN) 1752 and/orlarger networks, e.g., a wide area network (WAN) 1754. Such LAN and WANnetworking environments are commonplace in offices and companies, andfacilitate enterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, all ofwhich can connect to a global communications network, e.g., theInternet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 1702 can beconnected to the local network 1752 through a wired and/or wirelesscommunication network interface or adapter 1756. The adapter 1756 canfacilitate wired or wireless communication to the LAN 1752, which canalso include a wireless access point (AP) disposed thereon forcommunicating with the adapter 1756 in a wireless mode.

When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 1702 can includea modem 1758 or can be connected to a communications server on the WAN1754 via other means for establishing communications over the WAN 1754,such as by way of the Internet. The modem 1758, which can be internal orexternal and a wired or wireless device, can be connected to the systembus 1708 via the input device interface 1742. In a networkedenvironment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 1702 orportions thereof, can be stored in the remote memory/storage device1750. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown areexample and other means of establishing a communications link betweenthe computers can be used.

When used in either a LAN or WAN networking environment, the computer1702 can access cloud storage systems or other network-based storagesystems in addition to, or in place of, external storage devices 1716 asdescribed above. Generally, a connection between the computer 1702 and acloud storage system can be established over a LAN 1752 or WAN 1754e.g., by the adapter 1756 or modem 1758, respectively. Upon connectingthe computer 1702 to an associated cloud storage system, the externalstorage interface 1726 can, with the aid of the adapter 1756 and/ormodem 1758, manage storage provided by the cloud storage system as itwould other types of external storage. For instance, the externalstorage interface 1726 can be configured to provide access to cloudstorage sources as if those sources were physically connected to thecomputer 1702.

The computer 1702 can be operable to communicate with any wirelessdevices or entities operatively disposed in wireless communication,e.g., a printer, scanner, desktop and/or portable computer, portabledata assistant, communications satellite, any piece of equipment orlocation associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., a kiosk,news stand, store shelf, etc.), and telephone. This can include WirelessFidelity (Wi-Fi) and BLUETOOTH® wireless technologies. Thus, thecommunication can be a predefined structure as with a conventionalnetwork or simply an ad hoc communication between at least two devices.

FIG. 18 is a schematic block diagram of a sample computing environment1800 with which the disclosed subject matter can interact. The samplecomputing environment 1800 includes one or more client(s) 1802. Theclient(s) 1802 can be hardware and/or software (e.g., threads,processes, computing devices). The sample computing environment 1800also includes one or more server(s) 1804. The server(s) 1804 can also behardware and/or software (e.g., threads, processes, computing devices).The servers 1804 can house threads to perform transformations byemploying one or more embodiments as described herein, for example. Onepossible communication between a client 1802 and servers 1804 can be inthe form of a data packet adapted to be transmitted between two or morecomputer processes. The sample computing environment 1800 includes acommunication framework 1806 that can be employed to facilitatecommunications between the client(s) 1802 and the server(s) 1804. Theclient(s) 1802 are operably connected to one or more client datastore(s) 1808 that can be employed to store information local to theclient(s) 1802. Similarly, the server(s) 1804 are operably connected toone or more server data store(s) 1810 that can be employed to storeinformation local to the servers 1804.

What has been described above includes examples of the subjectinnovation. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivablecombination of components or methodologies for purposes of describingthe disclosed subject matter, but one of ordinary skill in the art mayrecognize that many further combinations and permutations of the subjectinnovation are possible. Accordingly, the disclosed subject matter isintended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, and variationsthat fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

In particular and in regard to the various functions performed by theabove described components, devices, circuits, systems and the like, theterms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe suchcomponents are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, toany component which performs the specified function of the describedcomponent (e.g., a functional equivalent), even though not structurallyequivalent to the disclosed structure, which performs the function inthe herein illustrated exemplary aspects of the disclosed subjectmatter. In this regard, it will also be recognized that the disclosedsubject matter includes a system as well as a computer-readable mediumhaving computer-executable instructions for performing the acts and/orevents of the various methods of the disclosed subject matter.

In addition, while a particular feature of the disclosed subject mattermay have been disclosed with respect to only one of severalimplementations, such feature may be combined with one or more otherfeatures of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageousfor any given or particular application. Furthermore, to the extent thatthe terms “includes,” and “including” and variants thereof are used ineither the detailed description or the claims, these terms are intendedto be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.”

In this application, the word “exemplary” is used to mean serving as anexample, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design describedherein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the wordexemplary is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion.

Various aspects or features described herein may be implemented as amethod, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programmingand/or engineering techniques. The term “article of manufacture” as usedherein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computerreadable media can include but are not limited to magnetic storagedevices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips . . . ), opticaldisks [e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD) . . . ],smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., card, stick, key drive . .. ).

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for developing industrial applications,comprising: a memory that stores executable components; and a processor,operatively coupled to the memory, that executes the executablecomponents, the executable components comprising: a user interfacecomponent configured to render integrated development environment (IDE)interfaces on respective client devices associated with respective enduser entities and to receive, via interaction with the IDE interfaces,design input that defines control design aspects of respectiveindustrial automation control projects, wherein functionalities of theIDE interfaces are controlled by an IDE editor; a project generationcomponent configured to generate the industrial automation controlprojects based on the design input; and an editor definition componentconfigured to receive, from the respective client devices via theinteraction with the IDE interfaces, interface definition data thatspecifies individual customizations of the IDE interfaces, and toinstruct the IDE editor to implement the individual customizations ofthe IDE interfaces, wherein the IDE editor permits a client deviceassociated with an end user entity, of the respective end user entities,to access and render an industrial automation control project associatedwith the end user entity via an IDE interface of the IDE interfaces, andprevents the client device from accessing and rendering other industrialautomation control projects associated with other end user entities viathe IDE interface of the IDE interfaces.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the respective end user entities comprise at least one of aplant asset owner, an industrial enterprise, an original equipmentmanufacturer, or a system integrator.
 3. The system of claim 1, whereinthe system executes as a set of cloud-based services, and the respectiveend user entities are assigned a portion of a virtual private cloudthrough which to access the set of cloud-based services.
 4. The systemof claim 1, wherein the IDE editor is further configured to individuallycustomize, for the IDE interfaces based on the interface definitiondata, at least one of: forms of programming feedback to be rendered bythe IDE interfaces and conditions under which the programming feedbackis to be rendered by the IDE interfaces, control programming syntaxsupported by the IDE interfaces, editing functionalities supported bythe IDE interfaces, programming guardrails to be enforced by the IDEeditor for the IDE interfaces, visual characteristics of the IDEinterfaces, or audio characteristics of the IDE interfaces.
 5. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the IDE editor comprises one or more openapplication programming interfaces (APIs) that allow the respectiveclient devices associated with the respective end user entities toprogrammatically access a subset of the IDE editor's low-level servicesand data models to facilitate the individual customizations of the IDEinterfaces.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the IDE editor is furtherconfigured to individually customize, for an IDE interface associatedwith an industrial enterprise, a programming guardrail template based onthe interface definition data, and wherein the programming guardrailtemplate defines internal programming standards for the industrialenterprise to be enforced by the IDE editor.
 7. The system of claim 6,wherein: the IDE editor is further configured to execute the programmingguardrail template against industrial control code imported into anindustrial automation control project via the IDE interface, and theuser interface component is further configured to display, on the IDEinterface based on execution of the programming guardrail templateagainst the industrial control code, notifications that identifyportions of the industrial control code that do not comply with theinternal programming standards for the industrial enterprise.
 8. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the respective industrial automation controlprojects respectively comprise at least one of an executable industrialcontrol program, an industrial visualization application, industrialdevice configuration data configured to set a configuration parameter ofan industrial device, an engineering drawing, or a bill of materials. 9.The system of claim 1, wherein the IDE editor supports instantiation ofautomation objects within an industrial control program that is part ofone of the respective industrial automation control projects, andwherein the automation objects represent respective industrial assetsincluding at least one of an industrial process, a controller, a controlprogram, a tag within the control program, a machine, a motor, a motordrive, a telemetry device, a tank, a valve, a pump, an industrial safetydevice, an industrial robot, or an actuator.
 10. The system of claim 9,wherein an automation object, of the automation objects, has associatedtherewith at least one of an input, an output, an analytic routine, analarm, a security feature, or a graphical representation of anassociated industrial asset.
 11. A method for creating industrialapplications, comprising: rendering, by a system comprising a processor,integrated development environment (IDE) interfaces on respective clientdevices associated with respective end user entities; receiving, by thesystem via interaction with the IDE interfaces, design input thatdefines control design aspects of respective industrial control andmonitoring projects, wherein a functionality of the IDE interfaces iscontrolled by an IDE editor; generating, by the system, the respectiveindustrial control and monitoring projects based on the design input;receiving, by the system from the respective client devices viainteraction with the IDE interfaces, interface definition data thatspecifies individual customizations of the IDE interfaces; implementing,by the system based on the interface definition data, the individualcustomizations of the IDE interfaces; permitting, by the system, aclient device associated with an end user entity, of the respective enduser entities, to access and render an industrial control and monitoringproject associated with the end user entity via an IDE interface of theIDE interfaces; and preventing, by the system, the client device fromaccessing and rendering other industrial control and monitoring projectsassociated with other end user entities via the IDE interface of the IDEinterfaces.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the implementing of theindividual customizations of the IDE interfaces comprises individuallycustomizing, based on the interface definition data, at least one of:forms of programming feedback to be rendered by the IDE interfaces andconditions under which the programming feedback is to be rendered by theIDE interfaces, control programming syntax supported by the IDEinterfaces, editing functionalities supported by the IDE interfaces,programming guardrails to be enforced by the IDE editor for the IDEinterfaces, visual characteristics of the IDE interfaces, or audiocharacteristics of the IDE interfaces.
 13. The method of claim 11,wherein the implementing of the individual customizations of the IDEinterfaces comprises individually customizing, for an IDE interfaceassociated with an industrial enterprise, a programming guardrailtemplate based on the interface definition data, and wherein theprogramming guardrail template defines internal programming standardsfor the industrial enterprise to be enforced by the IDE editor.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, further comprising: executing, by the system, theprogramming guardrail template against industrial control code importedinto an industrial control and monitoring project via the IDE interface;and displaying, by the system on the IDE interface based on theexecuting of the programming guardrail template against the industrialcontrol code, graphical feedback that identifies portions of theindustrial control code that do not comply with the internal programmingstandards for the industrial enterprise.
 15. The method of claim 11,wherein the generating of the respective industrial control andmonitoring projects comprises generating, for each of the respectiveindustrial control and monitoring projects, at least one of anexecutable industrial control program, an industrial visualizationapplication, industrial device configuration data configured to set aconfiguration parameter of an industrial device, an engineering drawing,or a bill of materials.
 16. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumhaving stored thereon instructions that, in response to execution, causea system comprising a processor to perform operations, the operationscomprising: rendering integrated development environment (IDE)interfaces on respective client devices associated with respective enduser entities; receiving, from the respective client devices viainteraction with the IDE interfaces, design input that defines controldesign aspects of respective industrial automation projects, whereinediting functions of the IDE interfaces are controlled by an IDE editor;generating the respective industrial automation projects based on thedesign input; receiving, from the respective client devices viainteraction with the IDE interfaces, interface definition data thatspecifies individual customizations of the IDE interfaces, wherein theinterface definition data defines, for the IDE interfaces, at least aform of programming feedback to be rendered by the IDE interfaces and acondition under which the programming feedback is to be rendered by theIDE interfaces; implementing, based on the interface definition data,the individual customizations of the IDE interfaces; permitting a clientdevice associated with an end user entity, of the respective end userentities, to access and render an industrial automation projectassociated with the end user entity via an IDE interface of the IDEinterfaces; and preventing the client device from accessing andrendering other industrial automation projects associated with other enduser entities via the IDE interface of the IDE interfaces.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein theimplementing of the individual customizations of the IDE interfacescomprises individually customizing, based on the interface definitiondata, at least one of: forms of programming feedback to be rendered bythe IDE interfaces and conditions under which the programming feedbackis to be rendered by the IDE interfaces, control programming syntaxsupported by the IDE interfaces, editing functionalities supported bythe IDE interfaces, programming guardrails to be enforced by the IDEeditor for the IDE interfaces, visual characteristics of the IDEinterfaces, or audio characteristics of the IDE interfaces.
 18. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein theimplementing of the individual customizations of the IDE interfacescomprises individually customizing, for an IDE interface associated withan industrial enterprise, a programming guardrail template based on theinterface definition data, and wherein the programming guardrailtemplate defines internal programming standards for the industrialenterprise to be enforced by the IDE editor.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the operations furthercomprise: executing the programming guardrail template againstindustrial control code imported into an industrial automation projectvia the IDE interface; and displaying, on the IDE interface based on theexecuting of the programming guardrail template against the industrialcontrol code, graphical feedback that identifies portions of theindustrial control code that do not comply with the internal programmingstandards for the industrial enterprise.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the generating of therespective industrial automation projects comprises generating, for eachof the respective industrial automation projects, at least one of anexecutable industrial control program, an industrial visualizationapplication, industrial device configuration data configured to set aconfiguration parameter of an industrial device, an engineering drawing,or a bill of materials.